Nashville Bushwhacker

  

Recently I reviewed a unique cookbook called Ticket to Ride: The Official Cookbook by Alan R. Moon. If you haven’t yet, read that review, you can find it here. One of the recipes in that cookbook that turned my head was this adult milkshake/cocktail that is sooooo delicious. It’s easy to throw together in a mini blender, and goes down smooth.

  Nashville Bushwhacker

2 oz. dark rum or whiskey
2 oz. Kahlúa
2 oz. crème de cacao
2 oz. Cream of Coconut
2 oz. milk
1 c. ice

Place in the bowl of a high-speed blender, and blend.

 Garnish with whipped cream, nutmeg, and a stemmed cherry.

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New York Times’ Chocolate Whiskey Cake

My search has begun for the perfect whiskey cake to serve at my annual St. Patrick’s Day dinner. I started with this one, a recipe from the New York Times. My interest is in chocolate, and whiskey, in cake form. This cake was deeply flavored, densely chocolate, and very good, but with only a whisper of whiskey. So, while I liked it, that whisper of whiskey wasn’t the kick in the face that I was looking for, so I will press on. If you like a relatively easy recipe for a scratch chocolate cake unlike any other, you’ll certainly enjoy this one. It’s particularly good when paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of fudge sauce.

New York Times’ Chocolate Whiskey Cake

 12 T. unsalted butter, cut into 1” pieces
¾ c. +2 T. unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ c. brewed strong coffee
½ c. Irish whiskey
1 c. granulated sugar
1 c. light brown sugar
2 c. flour
½ t. baking soda
¾ t. fine sea salt
¼ t. black pepper
 1/8 t. ground cloves
3 large eggs
2 t. vanilla
1 c. mini semi sweet chocolate chips
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Heat oven to 325°F. Spray a 10-inch springform pan with Baker’s Joy. Dust with 2 tablespoons cocoa powder; set aside.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, warm coffee, whiskey, butter, and remaining cocoa powder, whisking occasionally, until butter is melted. Whisk in sugars until dissolved. Remove from heat and cool completely.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, pepper, and cloves. In another bowl, whisk together eggs and vanilla. Slowly whisk egg mixture into chocolate mixture. Add dry ingredients and whisk to combine. Fold in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Transfer to oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean, 55 to 65 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack, then remove sides of the pan. Dust with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

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Salted Whiskey Caramel Sauce

Making homemade caramel sauce can put you on a bit of a slippery slope. If you're making it from scratch using butter, sugar, and heavy cream, you may find, as I do, that there is a fine line between a nice, beautiful, amber caramel sauce, and a bitter mess. If you don't cook it long enough, it's not going to be caramel; if you cook it too long, it's going to taste bitter. That's why, particularly during the busy holiday season, when I find myself pressed for time, the best way that I know of to make caramel sauce is simply using one can of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk.

Continuing my week of partnering with Eagle, today's recipe couldn't be simpler, and is going to yield a lot of rewards. It's a Salted Whiskey Caramel Sauce, and it cooks while you get on with your day. It makes an excellent ice cream topping to be sure, but it also adds a lot to plain pound cake, makes a wonderful drizzle atop chocolate brownies, and is an excellent gift for a friend or hostess. If you want to make anything more festive this holiday season, cover it in caramel!

Salted Whiskey Caramel Sauce

1 (14 ounce) can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
1-1/2 tablespoons whiskey* (I used Jameson)
Pinch of sea salt

Preheat oven to 425° F. Poor sweetened condensed milk into a 9-inch glass pie plate. Cover tightly with foil. Please pie plate into a larger pan (I used a 10" x 10" square cake pan), and fill pan with a half an inch of water. Carefully place it into the oven, and bake for two hours. Remove from oven, carefully lift the foil-covered pie plate out of the pan, remove foil, and whisk in sea salt and whiskey, continuing to whisk until smooth and creamy. Allow to cool before serving. Store, covered, in the refrigerator.

*If you prefer a non-alcoholic version, you can use a teaspoon of whiskey liqueur essence.

PRINT RECIPE

Disclaimer: I received compensation from Eagle Brand Milk to create this post.

This post is linked to:

Celebrate Your Story

Inspire Me Tuesday

Reader Tip Tuesday

Tuesdays with a Twist

The Scoop

Dream, Create, Inspire

O My Heartsie Girls Wonderful Wednesday
 Homestead Wednesday

Wow Us Wednesday

Wine’d Down Wednesday

Happiness is Homemade Sunday

Dishing It & Digging It

Full Plate Thursday

Grace at Home

Friday at the Fire Station
Foodie Friday & Everything Else

Create, Bake, Grow and Gather

Weekend Inspiration Party
Share Your Style

Simple Saturday Blog Hop

A Bouquet of Talent

Paula's No Rules Weekend Blog Party

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Time for a libation!

Well, I've gotta tell you, last week was not a good one. I was so far under the weather that I was almost underground.  I mean, you know you're in trouble when you walk into the ER (for the 4th time in five days) and everyone greets you like an old friend. But, I appear to have survived my injury, and am ready to get back on the blogging horse, as it were.

A replenishing of supplies was certainly in order after this past week, so we stopped at Sam's on the way home from what I hope was my final view of the ER...ever!  It's no coincidence that I headed straight for the liquor department.  In the going, look what I found!  Is this adorable, or what?

I'm not sure if this is a holdover from the holidays or what, but one went into the cart immediately.  I'm a fan of small, cute bottles of anything, so this appealed on that level, but I also appreciated the great assortment, in some cases of liqueurs that I had wanted to try anyway, but didn't want to buy a full-size bottle. I also love the little recipe suggestions on the side.  This is not a sponsored post, these are just the words of a half-crazed woman ready for a warm and satisfying cocktail.  I'll let you know which ones I make and like the best.

In the meantime, tell me what you all have been doing, and which of these drinks that you would make?

Did anybody miss me?!

This post is linked to:

Inspire Me Tuesday

Tasty Tuesday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Tasty Tuesdays

Thursday Favorite Things

Brined Pork Chops with Sautéed Apples and Whiskey Cream

This is a delicious, company-worthy meal that, with a bit of advanced preparation, can go together in under an hour.  The advanced prep is brining the pork chops.  If you've never brined meat before, you're in for a real treat.  No matter how I decide to fix pork chops, I always brine them first.  When brined they are tender, juicy, so flavorful, and never dry!

This, plus ice and water, is all you need to brine pork chops.

This recipe serves two, so a loaf pan is the perfect vessel for brining.

Brined Pork Chops with Sautéed Apples and Whiskey Cream

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 1-inch-thick loin pork chops

2 Honey Crisp apples

2 tablespoons firmly packed light brown sugar

2 tablespoons Irish Whiskey (I use Jameson)

1/4 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/8 teaspoon celery salt

1/8 teaspoon crumbled dried sage

Remove pork chops from brine, rinse in cold water and pat dry.  Discard brine.  In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon of the butter over moderately high heat until the foam subsides.  Brown the chops, seasoned with pepper, for 2-3 minutes on each side, and transfer them to a plate. Pour off the fat from the skillet, add the remaining 1 tablespoons butter.  Saut� the apples, peeled, cored, and cut into eighths, with 1 tablespoon of the brown sugar over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally for 3 minutes, or until they are golden. Add the whiskey, wine, the remaining tablespoon brown sugar, the cream, the celery salt, and the sage, bring the mixture to a boil, and add the chops with any juices that have accumulated on the plate. Simmer the mixture, covered, for 20 minutes, or until the chops are done. Cook the sauce for 3-5 minutes longer, or until it is thickened and golden.  Pour it over the chops and apples.

Pork Brine Recipe: 

1/4 cup coarse kosher salt

1/4 cup dark brown sugar

1 cup boiling water 

2 cups ice water

Put salt and sugar into a two-cup Pyrex glass measuring cup (or other microwave-safe cup) and add 1 cup of water.  Microwave for 3 minutes until the water comes to a rolling boil and the sugar and salt is completely dissolved.  This may take more or less time depending upon the wattage of your microwave oven.  Allow this mixture to cool for about 20 minutes.  Pour this mixture into a loaf pan and add three cups of ice water.  Stir to blend.  Once all of the ice has melted submerge the pork chops.  Cover the loaf pan with plastic and place chops in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours.

This is linked to Foodie Friday.